The son of silent-film western star Harry Carey Sr., Carey Jr. was a venerable character actor who was believed to be the last surviving member of director John Ford's legendary western stock company. His career spanned more than 50 years and included such Ford classics as "She Wore a Yello

The son of silent-film western star Harry Carey Sr., Carey Jr. was a venerable character actor who was believed to be the last surviving member of director John Ford's legendary western stock company. His career spanned more than 50 years and included such Ford classics as "She Wore a Yello (Los Angeles Times)

The onetime headmistress of an elite girls' school fatally shot Dr. Herman Tarnower, her lover and the creator of the famous "Scarsdale Diet." The killing generated front-page headlines and national debates about whether she was a feminist martyr or vengeful murderer. She was 89. Full obituary

The onetime headmistress of an elite girls' school fatally shot Dr. Herman Tarnower, her lover and the creator of the famous "Scarsdale Diet." The killing generated front-page headlines and national debates about whether she was a feminist martyr or vengeful murderer. She was 89. Full obituary (Ron Frehm / Associated Press)

Often called "Stormin' Norman" for his legendary temper, the former four-star general is best known as the commander of 1991's Operation Desert Storm, which quickly drove an invading Iraq out of Kuwait. He reminded America what it was like to win a war and defined the nation's renewed sense o

Often called "Stormin' Norman" for his legendary temper, the former four-star general is best known as the commander of 1991's Operation Desert Storm, which quickly drove an invading Iraq out of Kuwait. He reminded America what it was like to win a war and defined the nation's renewed sense o (David Longstreath / Associated Press)

The two-time Oscar nominee was dubbed the king of the character actors for his skill in playing everything from a Nazi colonel to the pope. His prolific work in films and television included supporting roles in the classic comedy "Tootsie" and the TV sitcom "Evening Shade." He was 89. Full...

The two-time Oscar nominee was dubbed the king of the character actors for his skill in playing everything from a Nazi colonel to the pope. His prolific work in films and television included supporting roles in the classic comedy "Tootsie" and the TV sitcom "Evening Shade." He was 89. Full... (Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)

The three-time Emmy winner portrayed the slovenly sportswriter Oscar Madison opposite Tony Randall on "The Odd Couple" and later played a crime-solving medical examiner on "Quincy, M.E." He was 90. Full obituaryNotable deaths of 2012

The three-time Emmy winner portrayed the slovenly sportswriter Oscar Madison opposite Tony Randall on "The Odd Couple" and later played a crime-solving medical examiner on "Quincy, M.E." He was 90. Full obituaryNotable deaths of 2012 (Los Angeles Times)

Frances Hashimoto, one of Little Tokyo's most influential business leaders who fought to preserve the neighborhood's Japanese cultural traditions and who invented the popular fusion dessert known as mochi ice cream, died of lung cancer Sunday at her Pasadena home. She was 69.

Hashimoto was the feisty, visionary president of Mikawaya, the 102-year-old, three-generation family business selling traditional Japanese sweet pastries and snacks. At the urging of her widowed mother, she left teaching and took over the family business at age 27, vastly expanding its reach from a single shop in Little Tokyo to four retail stores in Southern California.

And she put her most famous invention — an ice cream ball in seven flavors covered in soft, sweet rice cake — into such mainstream markets as Trader Joe's, Safeway, Albertsons and Ralphs.

Despite her business success, it was her leadership on myriad community organizations that made the biggest mark on Little Tokyo as it struggled through economic downturns and rapid demographic changes transforming the historic heart of Southern California's Japanese American community.

Over four decades, Hashimoto served on the Little Tokyo Business Assn., Nisei Week Foundation, Japanese American Cultural & Community Center and various advisory committees overseeing the neighborhood's redevelopment and transportation projects. Those who worked with her said she was unstintingly generous with financial contributions and donated platters of her sweet rice cakes, baked chestnut buns and other traditional desserts for community events.

"She is a historic and iconic figure," said L.A. City Councilwoman Jan Perry, a close friend who worked with her on several Little Tokyo projects. "She worked very hard to protect the history, integrity and identity of Little Tokyo as the largest Japantown in California."

Hashimoto fought to continue the community's annual Nisei Week festival despite diminishing attendance, in large part because she strongly believed that younger Japanese Americans needed to connect with their heritage, according to Ellen Endo, former editor of the Rafu Shimpo, the Japanese American community newspaper.

Hashimoto also passionately promoted her culture. Perry said, for instance, that Hashimoto taught her Japanese folk dances at community festivals. And she made a point to welcome new non-Japanese merchants to Little Tokyo with gentle reminders to respect the neighborhood's cultural heritage, said the Rev. Noriaki Ito of Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple.

As an advisory board member to the city's former redevelopment agency, Hashimoto "had a hand in everything they did in Little Tokyo — housing projects, security patrols, signage," said Bill Watanabe, the Little Tokyo Service Center's recently retired executive director.

The bilingual Hashimoto also promoted the sister-city relationship between Los Angeles and Nagoya, bringing the Nisei Week queen and princesses to the Japanese city every year. This spring, the Japanese government honored her with its prestigious decoration, the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays.

"She's probably made as big of a difference as anyone I can think of in Little Tokyo," Ito said.

Hashimoto was born Aug. 26, 1943, in a World War II internment camp in Poston, Ariz. She grew up in Boyle Heights and graduated from USC. Endo, who attended Hollenbeck Middle School with her, recalled Hashimoto was a strong-willed risk taker even then — flouting school rules to wear long, painted nails.

She had been teaching for four years when her mother appealed to her to help run the family business in 1970.

"I was teaching third grade, and my mother wanted me to give it up," she said in a 1978 interview with The Times. "It took me six months to decide, but what do you do with a business your family has had for 50 years?"

This month, Hashimoto's contributions will be memorialized when the plaza at 2nd and Azusa streets in Little Tokyo is renamed for her. The motion for the Frances Hashimoto Plaza was introduced by Perry and approved by the City Council in September.

Hashimoto is survived by her husband, Joel Friedman; and two sons, Bryan Koji and Ryan Koroku Hashimoto-Friedman, and her sister, June Sachiko Osugi.

A funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Japan America Theatre, 244 S. San Pedro St.

Bryan Santana, the man accused of stabbing his roommate and defiling her corpse, tried to punch a corrections officer, soiled himself and smeared excrement on the wall of a holding cell before his murder trial was due to begin on Tuesday.